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2:07am. It was dark. The sky was cloudy and it was raining lightly. Sapnap was tired and all he wanted to do was sleep. But he didn’t have much farther to go.
He had just spent hours driving to move in with his best friend.
A test run, just to see how it would work out. Sapnap hoped it would work out well and he’d get to stay there for a while. He's sure Dream felt the same way. They've been friends for so many years and it was just surreal that they were about to move in together.
Everything about what had happened to them was pretty surreal. How they went from being normal guys who played video games to being some of the largest content creators. To see everything that they had built. To see all the people they met because of one small little server that was created. A server that started small with close friends then slowly grew bigger and bigger. It's surreal to think that the server started out with one little house and blossomed into so much more. And Sapnap never expected any of this to happen to him.
Now he is finally moving in with the person who he has known for what seems like forever.
He checks the map on his GPS. Only a few more miles till he reaches his destination. Time seems to crawl by as he starts to get closer.
He was anxious. He had met Dream before but that was years ago. And now everything would be a lot different then it had been. They'll be in the same house, living under the same roof, only feet apart from each other compared to the hundreds of miles and multiple states from before.
The rain starts to get heavier and begins to impair Sapnap’s vision so he turns on the windshield wipers. He reaches his hand over to turn down the music so he can hear the rhythmic sounds of the wipers going back and forth and the sound of the raindrops beating against the metal roof of the vehicle.
His GPS starts to read out directions in its robotic tone. He turns down the road it tells him to and notices how his surroundings seem to change. There are very few street lamps and even though it’s dark, he can make out the faint outlines of houses. There aren’t any lights on in any of them and he assumes that most people have gone to bed by this hour.
The GPS starts reading out more instructions. He turns and isn’t confronted by more houses like he thought he would be. Instead lies a lining stretch of road that seems to disappear into darkness. He drives down it, headlights reflecting off the wet pavement while the rain continues to fall. There's a slight incline in the road so he can’t see what’s on the other side.
Once he reaches the top he sees that there’s a beach. It's dark but he can see the white caps on the waves as they slam against the shoreline. He slows down to admire the beauty of it all but sees headlights in his rear view mirror. He pulls to the side of the road to let them pass and water flies up as the other driver hits a puddle. He flinches out of reflex as the water splashes against his window and he watches as it cascades down. He pulls back onto the road and keeps driving.
2:23am. He checks the GPS again. Estimated time of arrival: 2:28am. Five more minutes. Five more minutes and the hours upon hours of driving will finally be worth it.
He comes to a stop sign and because there was no one around he pulls out his phone and opens his messages with Dream.
“ I’m almost there, about five more minutes .”
He puts his phone in the cup holder and presses his foot lightly on the gas pedal. The car creeps slowly while he looks for the road he needs to turn down. He doesn’t see it until the last second and as a result has to turn the wheel sharply.
He’s on the second last street until his final destination. The houses here are spaced farther apart than the ones he saw earlier that morning. He can’t really tell but he assumes they look nice as well.
He drives until he sees his phone screen light up. He puts his foot on the brake, stopping in the middle of the road but he didn’t care, there was still no one around. He clicks on the and unlocks his phone.
“ I can’t wait. ”
Sapnap smiles at the message before replying.
“ Me either .”
He puts his phone back in the cup holder and takes his foot off the brake. He presses a little too hard on the gas out of excitement and his car jerks forward. He's able to control his lead foot and returns to a steady pace.
After what seems like an eternity, he turns onto the final road. He drives along, looking for the house. Dream said he’d leave the porch light on so he can find it better.
He's not sure what side of the road he should be looking on; in hindsight, he probably should have asked but alas, he didn't. So he scans both sides of the road with his eyes to make sure he doesn miss it.
Finally he sees a house with a light on above the front step. On the step he sees the outline of a human in dark clothing leaning against the wall. As he turns into the driveway, the figure uses their foot to push against the wall, and stands up straight.
Sapnap puts the car in park and removes the keys from the ignition placing them in his hoodie pocket. He opens the car door and steps out into the rain, which has slowed down again.
The person who was against the wall was now standing right in front of Sapnap's car.
“Hey. How was the drive?” the man asks, outstretching his arms in an implied gesture for a hug.
Dream’s voice was low and raspy which made Sapnap assume he had recently woken up from a nap or something.
“Long and tiring,” he responds as he walks around the front of his car to stand right in front of his best friend.
He leans forward into Dream’s awaiting arms. He doesn’t stand on his tiptoes like he normally would when hugging someone who’s taller than him. He stands flat feet on the wet pavement of the driveway in one of the most comforting hugs he’s ever been in. It’s like he forgets how long he had been driving, he forgets how tired he was. All he feels is safe standing in Dream’s arms, in the driveway, in the rain.
Sapnap doesn’t ever want to pull away, he wants to stay in this bubble of safety and comfortability, but the rain is starting to get heavier again and he wants to go to sleep.
He takes a step back and looks up at Dream. His dirty blond hair peeking out from under the hood of his sweater. Sapnap can’t make out his facial features because Dream's back is towards the only source of light, but he knows that he is smiling.
“Do you want to get your stuff or leave it until the morning?”
Sapnap looks towards his car and reaches his hand out to wipe some water off the still warm hood. Then he stretches his arms and runs his fingers through his hair which is damp because of the rain.
“I don't really want to do anything else but sleep right now,” he says with a chuckle.
“Fair enough. Let’s go in then.”
“Yeah just let me-” Sapnap trails off as he walks to the passenger side of the car. He opens the door and leans in, grabbing his phone from the cup holder and a backpack from the floor. He swings the strap of the bag onto his shoulder before closing the door. He pulls the keys out of his pocket and presses the button to lock the car before putting the keys and phone in the pocket. He walks toward the front door where Dream was waiting patiently.
Once he got on the step Dream opened the door and walked in. He went and stood behind it and gestured for Sapnap to enter.
He entered into the small foyer area, only lit by a small lamp on a table. Dream shut the door and turned the lock while Sapnap slipped off his sneakers.
“Okay um, this way. We’ll go right to your room and deal with everything else in the morning.”
Sapnap nods and pulls the bag up because it started to slip. He follows Dream out of the entrance area, past what he assumes is the living room and then through the kitchen. The stairs are situated at the very back of the kitchen, hidden behind a wall. They’re made of hardwood and creak quietly as the two walk up. Sapnap follows Dream up the stairs and around the corner into the hallway.
Dream stops outside a closed door. He turns to face Sapnap implying that this was his room. Sapnap puts his hand on the cold metal of the doorknob and opens the door. He is instantly blasted by the scent of cleaning products and laundry detergent. Dream must notice that Sapnap scrunches up his nose because he starts to speak.
“Sorry if the smell is a bit overwhelming. I was going to open the window but it’s been raining all day,” he says with sincerity.
“No, it’s not that bad. I'll live with it for one night.”
Dream puts his hand on Sapnap’s shoulder and he feels electricity shoot down his arm to his fingertips.
“Don't forget, I’m just down the hall if you need anything. Goodnight Sapnap.”
Dream takes his hand off Sapnap’s shoulder and starts walking to his room. Sapnap turns to respond to him.
“I won't forget. Goodnight, Dream.”
He watches as Dream opens the door to his room and disappears inside. Sapnap hears the door latch shut before he goes to put his bag on the floor next to the bed. He gets his phone charger out of the front pocket and looks for an outlet. His battery is pretty drained from being in the car all day. He didn’t want to take a break so he drove the entire trip with only a few stops for food and to use the bathroom.
He plugs the charger into the wall and the other end into his phone, then checks to make sure it’s actually charging.
He’s extremely tired but manages to change into the shorts and t-shirt he had in the backpack before crawling into bed, under the heavily scented blankets.
He thinks about how awesome the day has been. He has his own room in Dream’s house. He lives there now. He had been in Dream’s arms in the rain like a movie cliche. Everything about this day had been incredible. He drifts off to sleep thinking about all that is yet to come.
The next morning he’s woken up by the sound of door hinges squeaking, followed by light pressure that moves up his leg evenly in four separate spots. It stops around his hips and the pressure spreads itself out as he feels vibration against his leg. He opens his eyes to see the infamous Patches that everyone loves and adores.
She looks up at him with curious eyes and he reaches his hand out slowly. She leans into the palm of his hand prompting him to pat her. He didn’t expect her to warm up to him this quickly but he wasn’t complaining.
They lay there until there’s a knock on the bedroom door. Dream opens it slowly. “Good morning. I hope you don’t mind. I took your keys and went out to get your stuff this morning,” he says pointing at the pile of stuff on the floor.
Sapnap smiles a small smile. “Thank you.”
Dream comes in and sits on the edge of the bed. Patches stands up and goes to sit on his lap. “She likes you. I told you she would,” he says while running his hand down her back.
Sapnap sits up and wipes the sleep out of his eyes. “What time even is it,” he asks.
“Like 4:30, I think. I didn't want to wake you up.”
“Thank you, again. Um, I don't mean to bother you but, can I have food?”
Dream laughs. “No you’re going to live here and have nothing to eat the entire time, of course you can have food. C’mon, let’s go.”
Over the course of the next week they get him settled in, set up his pc and spend a lot of time just chilling together.
One day Sapnap gets a bit bored and decides he wants to stream. It's only been a little while but he missed it. He decides he just wants to do a chill speed running stream. It starts with just him and Dream in a vc until George joins. Somehow, just like always, it turns into Dream and George flirting or whatever it is that they do. And Sapnap just has to sit there and listen to it.
He tries to make light hearted jokes like he always does but it seems harder than normal. He streams until he beats the game then says goodbye to chat. Afterwards just sits there thinking about how he hates that Dream and George joking around actually made him sad. He had thought about it before but living with Dream further confirmed his suspicions. He has feelings for Dream, and more than he originally thought.
He was lost in his own little world of thoughts and imagination until he hears someone clear their throat. He looks up and sees Dream leaning against the door frame.
“Can I come in?”
Sapnap nods and turns his chair to face Dream who takes a seat on Sapnap’s bed.
“What’s up? You seemed a little off today. Is there something going on?”
Sapnap sighs. “No, not really. It’s just-” He tries to think about a way to word it without saying the one really big thing. He really didn’t want to ruin anything. “It’s just, sometimes I feel left out. I know you and George are just joking around but it feels like I'm just, I'm just not wanted. You two like each other more and I'm just an add on.”
He tried to hide the pain in his voice but Dream seems to have picked up on it because his facial expression changes.
“Come here,” he says, patting the bed next to him.
Sapnap begrudgingly gets out of his chair and sits on the bed next to Dream.
“Look at me Sapnap,” Dream says and he does as he’s told.
“I act like that with George to try and push him out of his comfort zone. You don’t need me to do that. You’re already comfortable showing people how you feel.”
“But-“
“No buts,” Dream cuts him off harshly before going back to his comforting voice. “I don’t really pick favourites, I just have different ways of showing I care for different people.”
He wraps his arm around Sapnap’s shoulder and Sapnap looks up at him. “Promise?”
“I promise.”
Sapnap leans his head on his friend's shoulder and Dream lifts his other hand up to mess with Sapnap’s hair then whispers quietly into his ear, “but if I did pick favorites, I'd probably like you a little bit more.”